Asian American Sports with Rick Quan: Interview with Michael Chang

When I found out about Asian American Sports with Rick Quan, I could hardly wait to share my thoughts on this unique website. Rick Quan is a Christian and had been a sportscaster in the San Francisco Bay Area for a number of years. In April 2008, he started his own video production company, Rick Quan Productions. With the sports website, Rick is doing for Asian American athletes what I am doing for Asian American Christian artists and writers--showcasing the talents of sometimes overlooked Asian Americans.

At the time of this writing, Rick has posted seven video interviews of athletes. Featured this week is Michael Chang, retired tennis champion and devout Christian. Besides enjoying life with his new wife, Amber, Michael keeps busy with the Michael Chang Foundation, a faith-based ministry.



Other athletes profiled are Oakland A's catcher Kurt Suzuki, Olympic gymnast Kevin Tan, basketball player Willie "Woo Woo" Wong, Mariners' manager Don Wakamatsu, tennis champ Peanut Louie Harper, and LPGA golfer Christina Kim.

In most of the interviews, Rick asks the athletes if they have experienced racial prejudice in their sport. Interestingly, very few say they have. Each of the stars also gives advice to young Asian American athletes.

I will definitely bookmark Rick's website and eagerly await the next interview.

Prayer Life, Produced by Nitin Adsul of EastWest Films

Nitin Adsul was born in India, but now resides in the Washington DC area. Before forming EastWest Films with a partner, he acted in movies and television shows such as "The Wire," on HBO and "As the World Turns," on CBS.

"Prayer Life" is the first film he has produced with EastWest Films. It won the Jury Award at the WYSIWYG Film Festival and the Best Storyteller Award at the Redemptive Film Festival, both in 2007.

The plot revolves around a corporate cover-up in which an attorney, with the help of his religiously grounded wife, his no-nonsense computer hacker brother-in-law, and a corporate executive struggling with his conscience, tries to prove his client's innocence of an accounting fraud charge that other company executives try to pin on her.

I thought the movie did a good job of making the viewer sympathetic toward the protagonist attorney and his client. The story presented people with real problems. I look forward to seeing more of EastWest's films.